A Skull in Time
by Nooklays
Summary: How does one get home without getting blocked on the way? That was what Hat Kid thought when she got caught again in an accident that left her stranded on another planet filled with dangerous people who are after another thing besides the timepieces that she lost: a cursed artefact known as the Skull Heart. Will she find all the timepieces? Or resort to wishing on the Skull Heart?
1. Prologue

**Hat Kid's Spaceship**

It has been sometime after she landed on the planet. She have learned most of the places' origins, saved its settlements from lava flood or toilet terrorism and made new friends and hats. After a week on the planet without finding any more timepieces, Hat Kid confirmed she had found all of them and returned to her spaceship. Before activating her spaceship's hyper jets to cover a few more lightyears, she waved her friends goodbye and even cried a little bit.

The hyper jets are now cooling down. The bedroom lights automatically switched on suddenly, causing Hat Kid's slumber to be rudely disrupted as she jumped high out of the bed in surprise before faceplanting onto the carpeted floor, her hat floating down back onto her head.

"Good morning, and welcome to yet another space adventure!" announced the automated voice in her spaceship. "You are only: 2 lightyears away from your destination!"

She then recovered from the fall and yawned as she tiredly trudged towards the doorway, ignoring the voice which was listing things for her to do from the 'To do' list.

She walked into the main hub of her spaceship and, now fully awake, ran up the stairs to the huge screen with an exclamation mark."Boop!" She playfully said as she tapped on the screen, switching the image to a diagram showing the amount of hourglass-shaped fuel in her spaceship, which was at full capacity before it faded to the progress on the space journey back home.

Hat Kid then remembered how she ended up getting stranded: it was due to a Mafia goon who somehow got into space and thought it was a good idea to punch through her windows, and that sucked her and her fuels out of the spaceship, via the vacuum of space, onto some planet. Out of experience and caution, she turned her head to the windows, looking out for any potential space invaders and, to her relief, there are none. She jumped down over the railing, almost landing onto a vacuum-cleaning roomba, and walked towards the windows.

Through the windows, she had a close-up view of a planet of similar surface finish to most other planets she has passed. It seems that according to the 'Dummy's Detailed Guide to Space Travel: Universal Version' book, this planet is also called 'Earth'. Hat Kid wondered why many planets are named or more so, look like Earth. Or perhaps the theory on multiple Earths existing in a galaxy could be true.

However, she was pulled out of her contemplation as she noticed a glowing comet of energy that was the size of a flea, well at a long distance since Hat Kid is squinting her eyes to get a clear view of the energy getting larger and larger- oh wait. It's zeroing in closer and closer to her spaceship at high speed! After realising that it is not just a ball of energy, her eyes widened as she quickly backed away from the windows and ran around in circles, panicking in despair as the energy missile smashed through her windows and into the main hub, critically damaging the part where it caused the vault door to open, exposing the timepieces to the vacuum of space as she got sucked out of the spaceship screaming.

As she was falling into the planet's atmosphere, she noticed that her once-retrieved timepieces were now scattering into the skies in random directions.

"Here we go again..." Hat Kid muttered, annoyed that everything in the galaxy is trying to stop her from getting back home.

 **Morning, on the streets of New Meridian**

After a rough encounter with Peacock, thanks to Samson not giving her back the money he borrowed from, Filia wiped away the post-battle sweat beads on her face and brushed off the dust from her slightly tattered school uniform before she looked at Samson in a worrying manner, although Samson is located on the back of her head.

"Phew, that was a close call. Samson, you need to stop your shenanigans while I'm sleeping!" She reprimanded him in a way most mothers would to their children.

"I was hungry okay?!" Samson rasped back. "Eh, sorry about that incident. That advertisement I saw looked so tempting, I felt the need to gobble down on that secret recipe fried chicken! Anyways, we should resume looking for that Skullhea- What the hell is that...?"

Filia heard a sound of an airplane headed behind her. As the deafening sound got closer, she let out a yelp and ducked down. She got a quick glimpse at the large strangely-shaped aircraft that was leaving a smoke trail behind it as it crashed down towards the direction she was facing. She has never seen something like that before, but the smoke trail it left means it was shot down by something. The first thing that came to her mind was the Skullgirl. There was no one she knew other than the powerful Skullgirl that could bring down an aircraft like the one that flew over the place she was standing in.

"Could the Skullgirl possibly have caused this?" Filia thought.

"Look out, kid!" Samson warned her as he detected another flying object hurtling towards their position. He quickly responded by transforming Filia's black long hair into a whip and whacking it away behind her, causing it to clink on the sidewalk a few times before rolling to a stop. Filia turned around to see a perfectly unscathed hourglass and picked it up, examining it.

"An hourglass?" Filia described as she carefully handled the strange object that radiated unknown energy.

"From the sky..." Samson continued.

"I think it might have come from the falling aircraft we saw just now."

"Yeah, whatever this is, it's just some useless junk. We're looking for the wish-giving Skullheart, not some hourglass that fell from the sky!"

"What if someone needs it?"

"Drop it, they'll find this themselves."

Filia frowned and scratched her head in doubt.

"I am not sure Samson... it would be rude for me to not return it to its owner."

"It's... *sigh* one of these days you're gonna get yourself in trouble. Just hold on to it for as long as you want, kid. But remember: our focus is on the Skullheart."

In agreement to heed Samson's reminder, she nodded. She walked around the streets in search of any leads to the Skullheart.

 **In the sky above Canopolis**

"Uuuugh..." Hat Kid groaned impatiently as she slowly parachuted using an umbrella she stole from the strong hands of a mafia goon. To be honest, the mafia of cooks back on that planet are three times her size and yet, one of them surrendered quickly when she used his umbrella against him! She have anticipated much more from those weird crooks who dominated the island she landed on.

From great heights, she could see a metropolis, a multitudinous land of tall buildings with long-stretching roads in between them and airships hovering in the skies, a grand city much bigger than all the settlements she has visited on the previous planet.

Her hand became sore from holding the umbrella for too long. And from that, she made a mental note for herself: to open the umbrella closer to the ground next time.

To speed up her obviously long descent, she closed her umbrella and, in an instant magical poof cloud, switched her standard hat to an ice hat. This gave her the ability to transform into an ice statue, letting her fall quickly from the increased weight. As she was falling down, she noticed that the roof of the building she was going to land on is made of carved glass, and it would cause too much noise if she smashes through it. Hat kid, now surprised, broke out of her ice statue and reopened her umbrella with her other hand. She struggled to slow her descent down by frantically waving her other arm like a chicken and closed her eyes to prepare herself for the worst, just to feel her brown boot lightly tap the glass to her relief. She slid down the curved slope of the roof and landed on the other section of it that is made of marble.

Hat Kid changed back to her normal hat and watched her damaged spaceship gliding over to another city in the distance along with the timepieces that looked like shooting stars. Looks like she'll have to find a way to quickly travel over to the place if she wants to get back home, but for now, she must explore a bit and look for anything that can help her get there.

Perhaps going inside the building she was standing on and asking people for directions could help. Hat Kid noticed a conveniently placed air vent nearby that she can access to enter the building. To do so, she opened the vent cover and crawled into it.

[Author's nootz]

 _This is, for real, my first fanfiction. And I know I can't make more chapters alone because there are certain general concepts and ideas that I have little knowledge of, such as the military or food or wotever. If you have any ideas on advancing this story, write em down in your reviews! Heck, I think I can create a thread on Drawception about this fanfic! Anyways, I'll see ya all on the next chapter, where Hat Kid meets Umbrella Renoir! Shite I spoiled it_


	2. The Show Starts

**Inside Glass Canopy**

"Ngh- It's kind of stuffy in here." Hat Kid muttered as she crawled through the vents, uncomfortable from the cramped space. Unlike most action movies, they were pitch-black, forcing her to rely on her hands to feel for any blockage and opening. It was also dusty inside, causing her to cough occasionally. Then, the girl noticed in front of her some rows of light that came from the grille, indicating she has reached her destination. Crawling over to the grille cover, she peeked through its thin gaps to scan the interior of the building.

Outside the vent was an incredibly spacious art deco ballroom, where there was a majestic fountain in the middle and tall elaborately-sculpted statues at the wall add to the liveliness of the place, though it was vacant at the moment.

Hat Kid decided to take a closer look by busting through the grille as quietly as she tried and landed on the marble flooring followed by a grille cover clinking over it. While she was walking around, she heard footsteps nearby. As the girl was unsure whether the sound source was hostile or otherwise, she rolled over to hide behind a nearby ornate pillar, pretending to be secret agent and spied from there. After a few seconds, she noticed a blonde man in an army uniform of some kind enter the hall with a worried expression on his face as if he lost something important.

"Umbrella!" Adam calmly called out a name, holding an ice cream. "Umbrella where are you? I have vanilla!"

He doesn't seem so dangerous, so Hat Kid stepped out from her hiding spot and peacefully revealed herself to the Black Egrets officer, though in an awkward manner.

"Um... hello-"

"Oh there you are, highness!" he exclaimed upon finding the girl before double-checking her looks. "Wait... you're not the princess... now what are you doing here?"

"I just entered here," Hat Kid replied. "Were you looking for someone?"

"Uh... yes? I mean, I could use some assistance in finding the princess and resuming operation um... 'Chocolate Dawn'."

Hat Kid giggled a bit at the codename before nodding in agreement to helping out Adam with his duty. "Okay then, what does she look like?"

"You don't know who she is? Well, er... Umbrella's a little kid like you with pink hair and a long yellow raincoat. I'm sure she was here before I obtained ice cream for her."

"Uh huh, I'll go look for her and bring her back to you."

"Right then... you're now dismissed," Adam stated. Hat Kid playfully saluted before going off to search for Umbrella in the castle. The officer scratched his chin, perplexed at the unexpected visitor to the Glass Canopy.

* * *

 **2 minutes later...**

It was not long before Hat Kid found Umbrella hiding behind the pillar, and she got excited at the fact that she's meeting another one of her peers. The other party also felt the same thing and stepped out to greet her.

"Hey, another kid!" the princess exclaimed with eyes of delight, holding a purple umbrella much bigger than her stature. "What brings you here?"

"A man told me to bring you to him." Hat Kid stated her intention.

The pinkette's smile quickly turned into a frown upon hearing it and she whined. "You mean that dumb lieutenant? No way! I don't want ice cream! I don't even like vanilla!"

The brunette thought for a moment before asking her, "Why are you like this?"

Umbrella answered by expressing her discontent to the place. "It's always the same thing every day! I get stuck in this crummy place with only a bunch of stinky lieutenants to talk to while my big sister does cool stuff outside like fighting bad guys! I can't go with her cuz' she is all like "Oh, it's too dangerous for you, lil' sis!" and stuff!

Hat Kid took this into her account: Umbrella's sister is fighting bad guys that are considered too dangerous for her, meaning the planet she is on could be riddled with many dangerous people. That or the big sister was just being overprotective.

"Hey, can you do something for me?" The princess asked before childishly commanding with a mock-royal voice. "I demand that you shoo that soldier boy away!"

"I'll see to that, your majesty." Hat Kid acted along as well, leaving Umbrella at her hiding spot and off to divert that soldier away from it.

 _ **(WHERE'S THE HORIZONTAL LINE BREAK BUTTON?)**_

 **A few moments later...**

After convincing Adam that the princess outran her and locked herself in the bedroom, he walked off, leaving the two girls alone in the party hall.

"Alright, now that I've rid that adult for you, there's something I need to ask." Hat Kid requested to Umbrella, who was relieved she doesn't have eat vanilla ice cream. "Have you seen any Timepieces falling from the sky?"

"Timewhatzitcalled?" Umbrella was confused at that term. "I don't know, but I did see many shooting stars and also a spaceship that flew over the rooftop! Can't you believe that? Aliens are on Earth!"

"Actually, that spaceship belonged to me," Hat Kid claimed, before explaining what happened a while ago. "And those shooting stars you saw were hourglasses called Timepieces that dropped out of it."

"Whaaaat?" Umbrella said in disbelief.

"I just came here because some kind of energy just smashed into my spaceship, causing it to fall down and drop me off on top of this place. I'm looking for the Timepieces because I need them in order to get back to my homeworld."

"Hmm... are you sure about that? I doubt a kid like you owns a real spaceship or use hourglasses to get home or something. Besides, you don't look like an alien."

"Not all aliens look like those tentacle monsters you see in cartoons. Anyways, can you show me around this place? This is my first time being here."

The girl in yellow raincoat nodded at the alien's request. "Well okay then. Since I've been living in this crummy castle for a lifetime, I'll be your tour guide- Wait... Mom, is that you?"

She noticed a middle-aged woman walking towards her, a familiar face she saw on her. She had raven hair and wore a small crown and dust-rose dress. She knew she was her mother.

"Come closer, my daughter..." her mother's soothing voice invited Umbrella to her open arms.

"Mother!" Umbrella cried out excitedly as she ran and hugged her mother, Hat Kid, however, noticed something was amiss. Her top hat detected a Timepiece nearby, but it was nowhere to be seen, except... it was found inside the queen's stomach. Gross... there is no way a human would think about ingesting a volatile object. The first thing for Hat Kid to do when getting a timepiece from someone is to ask them for it.

She confronted the mother and extended her hand out for the Timepiece.

"Can I have the hourglass from your stomach, please?" the girl politely asked Queen Nancy.

"Hm? I'm not sure what you're talking about," she replied nonchalantly.

Without a warning, Hat Kid suddenly pulled out her blue umbrella and ironically smacked her with it before she could react, knocking her down to the ground.

"Hey, that's my mom ya bitch!" Umbrella barked, using the b-word as though it is a normal word. However both the girls gasped as upon faceplanting the floor, the queen abruptly melted into a grotesque flesh puddle with a Timepiece in the middle of it before changing into an eldritch abomination.

"How perceptive of you, child..." In a distorted voice, Double praised Hat Kid's ability to see through her, which frightened her a bit. "It seems that you have found this 'Timepiece' you called and have a stronger connection towards it then Aeon has. You are something new."

Umbrella hid behind Hat Kid who just stood there shivering, holding her umbrella forward in a defensive stance, trying hard to perceive Double as less horrifying than that queen she encountered in her manor.

"L-Look, I don't know who or whatever you are and what this world is," Hat Kid talked back. "But the thing I know is that you're going do something very bad, r-right?"

"I am sent to carry out a task that is not what you see it as. My master has ordered me to bring the princess behind you to her, but now it has become apparent that you are in our way of reaching our goals." Double then formed sharp fleshy tentacles around her.

"I don't care about what goals you're talking about! Hand over the Timepiece!" Hat Kid shouted demandingly at the shapeshifter, preparing to attack back if needed.

"Whether you're from this world or not, you still exhibit your vicious traits. That will only be cleansed, **through death.** " Double then proceeded to swipe one of her tentacles at Hat Kid, who responded by jumping back while holding Umbrella, swiftly dodging the attack although wincing at a small cut her cheek received from the bladed tentacle.

Hat Kid, ignoring the small injury, left Umbrella at a pillar and swapped her hat to a winged cap before taking out 3 badges, the Hookshot badge, Scooter badge and Projectile badge, from her backpack to pin them on it. The Scooter badge suddenly conjured a scooter under the girl as she charged towards Double, who could not react in time to dodge it. The vehicle crashed into the monster, sending her flying across the ballroom. Umbrella became amazed upon watching her stunts. As Double recovered, Hat Kid proceeded to crash into her again, only for the potential roadkill to split, evading the impact. Double then transformed her tentacles into a demonic arm holding a gun, aimed at the girl. Hat Kid responded by driving around her in circles to dodge the bullet. However, she got caught by another arm with a mouth and got swallowed by it before being released again with a forceful expulsion, sending her into the pillar. Hat Kid held her side as she got up to see Double running at her as a cartoony-looking car and quickly jumped over it, causing it to crash into the pillar and revert the monstrosity back into her nightmarish form. The little girl then performed a homing dive onto Double followed by few mid-air swipes and a short-charged beam attack from her umbrella, dealing moderate damage to the beast who grunted in pain. Hat Kid then fired a hook from her umbrella at a chandelier to evade as the recovering meat woman used her multitudinous tentacles to swipe everything within their short range.

"Ack-ngh... What a disrespectful... lady." Double said to Hat Kid as she transformed into a complete form, a nun she usually disguises as. "Y-You... are more than a nuisance to our plans. My subordinate will take over from here..."

The nun then moved away and suddenly, a flurry of heavy-duty scalpels was thrown at Hat Kid and caught her by surprise. A few of them cut her body while many others impaled her Sprint hat and pinning it to a nearby pillar. That caused the girl to lose her abilities and drop down from the ceiling, falling onto her back due to the wounds, much to Umbrella's dismay.

"My, how interesting." a feminine voice came from afar, where Hat Kid couldn't see before she revealed herself as a ninja-looking nurse observing her hat. "It seems that your hat provides you with the necessary tools needed to fight back... and since you're no longer a threat, we will be taking away that little sister of Parasoul- what the-?!"

Valentine found herself wrapped in a long tongue belonging to Hungern, Umbrella's living weapon.

"Nobody hurts my friend!" the princess yelled. "Kid, take your hat back while I deal with nurse boobs!"

Hat Kid nodded in gratitude as she took the scalpels out from her wounds and ran to the pillar where her hat was. Although it was too high for a short kid like her, she defied that by running up the pillar and retrieved her hat back in the process. She then jumped off it and dove at Valentine, who was struggling to free herself from Hungern, and kicked her in the face, releasing her from the tongue and knocking her down. The nurse rolled back and got into her combat stance, but was shot by Hat Kid's hook and pulled towards her, followed by a swing from Umbrella, hitting her in the stomach and knocking her down before both proceeded to swing their umbrellas at her like golf clubs, combining their blow towards the doctor and sending her flying into the fountain.

Valentine, soaked in fountain water, then stood up clutching her stomach to see that her side is bleeding.

"Why you little..." the nurse then proceeded to use another set of scalpels and threw them at Hat Kid, who was unable to dodge them in time and inflicted more cuts on her, causing her to yelp in pain.

"Wha- no!" Umbrella cried out for her friend, who was exhausted and bleeding at this point.

"I don't think we can outlast them, we need to go, now!" Hat Kid said to Umbrella, unable to fight any longer. She grabbed her and placed her on the back her scooter before driving off to retreat from the fight.

"Did you think you're gonna leave the operation without a shot?" Valentine smirked as she hastily loaded her syringe with poison and threw it precisely at Hat Kid, intoxicating her with it. The little girl winced and tried to ignore the injection as she and Umbrella drove out of the stage.

"Damn, some random kid stole our target." The nurse muttered under her breath at the failure.

"Our master now calls us to return to the cathedral." Double, in her nun form, informed Valentine.

* * *

 **On the road**

The city has never been any less beautiful for the Hat Kid thanks to the art deco architecture that makes it stand out more compared to the snowy and gothic architectural style back on her home planet. Both girls are on the scooter with Hat Kid, although wounded from the fight, taking the driver's place going past vehicles by vehicles.

"Did you see what we both did back there?" Umbrella talked to her with uncontrolled excitement. "It was awesome! I mean- they're like "die" and we're like "no you" and they went like "bleh"! And think your umbrella is cool, it shoots laser beams and grappling hooks! You could be like... like my new sister!"

Hat Kid became hesitant at the idea of being a sister of someone she doesn't know.

"So... where can we go from here?" she asked Umbrella for direction as she is not familiar with navigating the long roads stretching in between buildings.

"Hmmm..." the raincoat kid thought for a while before she figured out a place they can go to. "I know, we can drive to New Meridian, starting at Little Innsmouth! By the way, what's your name, kid?"

"I don't know my real name," the girl in a hat stated. "But many people I meet call me Hat Kid."

"Hat Kid? Pfft-ha ha ha! What name is that! I know you should have better names than that, like Miss Hatty or Toppy or... hey, I can call you Sunshade Renoir!"

"Uhh... let's just stick to Hat Kid..."

"Whatever you say, Hat Kid. I'm Umbrella Renoir, the youngest princess in the Renoir family."

And then both talked on and on while driving. All Hat Kid heard onwards was Umbrella's short silly stories at the castle. But then, that's the closest she can get to knowing about the place.

Little did they know, Valentine's poison is slowly acting on Hat Kid.


	3. Hello, Kitty

**_Author's Note: Thank you Varus for a warm-hearted review, and thank you all who read and/or followed this fanfic! It took much time for me to write the third chapter, but let me tell you about what kept me busy:_**

 ** _Like all the other fanfic writers, I have a life. And having a life means that I need to do daily things such as studying, drawing, talking witht peepz on the Drawception forums and all that. Also, I have an exam that's around the corner but once I am done with it, I'll pay more attention to this story._**

 ** _And just like everyone else, I am a human being who is driven by motivation and passion but blocked by stress and distraction. Sometimes I feel like writing this and other times I do other things._** ** _But let's get to the point: you wanta third chapter, don't you?Well you are reading it now. I happily hope that you will enjoy it! C=_**

* * *

 **In Little Innsmouth**

Ms. Nadia Fortune, currently wearing a long dark brown trenchcoat, was taking a stroll to Yu Wan's restaurant, where she frequently visits to see her friend Minette and also eat the great dishes in that well-known place. It used to be a hang-out for the notorious yet nice Fishbone Gang who was willing to raise her from a stray kitten to a full-fledged thief, and she's grateful for them.

Unfortunately, she's the last remaining member of the gang. The others were chippity-chopped up and dumped into the sea by the Medici assassin Black Dahlia after a failed attempt at stealing the life gem, which now flows in the veins of Nadia after she swallowed it to save her fur. Someday, she will get her revenge on the Medici Mafia, and with news of the Skullgirl about, she'll get to snatch the Skull Heart and make her wishes come true.

But something else turned her away from her thoughts, Nadia looked up at the sky and saw not one nor two, but many shooting stars high up. It was a pretty sight and if she could get something out of them, she would just stand and wish for so many things instead of going the difficult way that is clawing the Skull Heart out of a deadly Skullgirl. She frowned due to that easy option being just a bullcrap myth told to children.

As she kept gazing at the sky, something hit her in the back of her head, causing the feral to stumble over. She rubbed her head as she looked for someone who inconsiderately threw it, before shouting. "Alright, who just fur-eaking threw junk at me?!"

While looking around irritated, she noticed a glowing hourglass rolling on the wooden boardwalk, blinking her eyes at the sight of it. What kind of person would drop something that looks delicate and valuable? Like a hoarder, Ms Fortune looked around to make sure no one is nearby before picking up the hourglass. Although the artefact was damaged, as seen from the fissures on its glass body leaking strange purple energy out of them, she decided to keep it inside one of the bags on her utility belt and resumed her stroll to the meal.

Hat Kid and Umbrella just arrived at a fishy part of New Meridian known as Little Innsmouth. It is a bustling seaside district where the Dagonians, fishy-looking people according to Umbrella, mainly lives in. The architecture of most buildings is made in a way to suit the said people's style. Coral-like chimney pots decorate the rooftops like ice cream toppings and jellyfish lanterns are strung between house to house. A network of wooden boardwalks suspended above the lower parts of the place, where the roads down there were littered with trash and the walls of alleyways had colourful graffiti painted on them. It makes Mafia Town look squeaky clean.

"Okay, now we are here," her new friend said. "Now you can stop... Hat Kid? Uhh, hello?"

Hat Kid was too exhausted to listen to her thanks to both the battle wounds and the usage of her remaining energy on riding her scooter. It then slowly started to evaporate, with the wheels poofing first into magical clouds of nothingness. The friction between the road and the scooter's deck created flares that trailed behind the scooter and caused it to slow down and wobble at the same time. Umbrella, alarmed by this situation thought they were about to crash into something and so grabbed Hat Kid's hand before hopping off the moving scooter. After they both landed on the sidewalk, the princess then turned her head and watched the scooter as it vanished in magical smoke. Umbrella's peer bumped into her from behind, getting blood from the scalpel cuts onto her yellow raincoat. Umbrella turned around to see her friend stumbling before clumsily falling on her back.

"Hey, are you alright?" she worriedly asked Hat Kid about her current physical condition, which looked many times worse than accidentally cutting one's finger with scissors.

Her friend shook her head response as she got up, her legs shaking a bit.

"Not good, not good at all." Umbrella muttered in a worried tone.

Umbrella then searched the street for a place to turn to for help. After less than a while, she spotted a restaurant which was just above them and dragged Hat Kid along with her there via the wooden staircase.

"Come on, kid, I am sure we'll last for more than one day outside!"

* * *

 **Dak'kuul Dusu**

"You hear the news? some hourglasses were falling from space." The skinny guy, Riccardo was conversing his overweight partner Lawrence over the table, eating their meals.

"From space, huh? You think there are aliens landing on Earth?"

"Dunno 'bout that, but those junks could be more valuable than we look at 'em."

"So valuable that they make lots o' money!"

"Perhaps we can find some and bring them to Vitale for quick cash."

"Or we should find that fish chick first and do that later."

From the table, the fat goon noticed a Dagonian waitress walking towards them, holding a plate with a bowl of rice. "And there she is! That fishfolk dame we've been sent to find!" He then proceeded to call her in a mocking tone. "Hey, girlie! Can we get some uh... service over here?"

Minette heard the customers' call her and walked over to their table. "Yes, may I help you, sir?"

Then blatantly, Lawrence started to hit on her, grabbing her by the shoulder and fondling her belly in a risqué manner.

"Hey now, you're quite a dish. I would love to eat YOU up." the thinner one also began flirting with her, in a crude manner. "Why don't you swim over here with a couple of free drinks... and then we hit the town?"

Minette blinked her eyes at both of those men. Uninterested in leaving her job undone to join them, she excused herself, "I... I'm sorry, I need to work."

"You know... you are pretty CUTE, for a stinkin' gill-gal." Lawrence insulted her. Minette heart was thumping. She was unsure of ways to get out of the situation she found herself in. If only Nadia Fortune was there to protect her...

The restaurant doors suddenly opened and revealed two little girls, a pink-haired kid in a blood-stained raincoat with another girl beside her who had bloody cuts all over. Minette gasped in shock, dropping the plate in bafflement. Of course, she's used to seeing Nadia playing around with her detached head, limbs and etcetera, but not a child who appeared to be stabbed in all over her delicate body. The nearby mix of humans and dagonian diners also took mild interest, before they lost it and continued their meals. The mobsters however, were more concerned with the pinkette.

"Can anyone here help us?!" Umbrella yelled at the people sitting at their tables, who ignored her and continued their meals despite the quiet atmosphere being broken by some loud kid. Hat Kid on the other hand observed her newfound surroundings a bit.

The goons looked at each other in confusion before Riccardo whispered a question, "Psst... what is Parasoul's little brat sister doing here?"

"I ain't sure why she came here out of all the places..." Lawrence softly replied, before a nasty brilliant idea lit up in his head. "Hey, I got an idea... how 'bout we bag her too and get us easy money?"

Riccardo thought for a moment before nodding in agreement as his wide partner suddenly grabbed Minette with both of his arms, causing her to yelp as he slightly lifted her above the floor. The gangsters then moved up from their seats and slowly walked towards the kids, grinning wickedly.

"H-Hey! Let go of me!" Minette fruitlessly demanded while she was being carried by the fat mobster towards the door.

Riccardo kneeled down to the two little girls and looked at Umbrella, with bad intentions. "Hello there little girl. Say... you needed some help?"

In response to his offer, Hat Kid nodded and so did Umbrella.

"Yeah! She's hurt pretty badly-" However, Umbrella felt suspicious as she narrowed her eyes at him and his fat partner with a fish lady who was struggling to wriggle out of his hold. She knew to not trust those two adults, thanks to her experience with the grotesque monster that guised as her mother. Hungern, a living umbrella wielded in her hand, opened its many eyes and stared at the mobster who was almost too slow to notice it.

"Well not to worry, I can bring you to the nearest- what the hell?!"

Hungern's mouth began snapping at the gangsters viscously. Riccardo began backing away while Lawrence, carrying Minette with his left arm, placed his other hand on his sheathed machete anxiously.

"Hah, I knew it!" Umbrella confidently said as she wielded her weapon with two hands before adjusting her stance to look samurai-like. Hat Kid stood back while Hungern stretched its tongue out. "You guys are definitely bad guys."

"Well, y-you're just a kid! I'm- I ain't scared of you!" Lawrence trembled as he quickly pulled out his machete and pointed it at Umbrella, showing his irrational hostility towards her. Umbrella only smirked as Hungern's tongue autonomously extended and coiled around his right arm like a snake before painfully twisting it.

"AARRGH-AHH!" The thug let out a piercing scream throughout the diner, releasing Minette from his grasp and kneeling on the ground as the wrapping tongue squeezed his right arm, cracking the bones inside it. He was then pulled into Hungern's large frog-like mouth, swallowing him whole. His thin friend watched in shock and disgust as he was forcefully regurgitated out of the living umbrella onto a glass pane, drenched in saliva. Lawrence groaned in pain before recovering slowly and stared at Riccardo. "Don't just stand there, help me out!"

"You're on your own, Lawrence!" his partner hastily declined as he speeded out of the restaurant, leaving him alone against Umbrella. The living weapon licked its lips, signifying that it wants to toy with him some more.

Lawrence, knowing he was beaten by a small girl, crawled towards the exit door in a futile attempt at escaping. Before he could even touch the door, his leg was grabbed by the same tongue that then lifted him up in the air. Hat Kid and Minette watched in amazement as Lawrence was spun around like a helicopter rotor. Umbrella raised her hand up, letting it slap his face every 360 degree turns, leaving red marks on his cheek.

"So long, gay Bowser!" Umbrella victoriously exclaimed as the tongue threw him into the glass door, shattering it on impact. The mobster fell onto the boardwalk on his back and clutched his face in pain.

"What is going on- MY DOOR!" a pudgy catfish-like Dagonian chef holding a cleaver stepped out of his kitchen when he heard noises and, to his horror, found out about the assault incurred on his restaurant's door. Yu Wan then noticed Umbrella whose raincoat was stained with the blood of Hat Kid and began to accuse her angrily. "You, young crazy lady, get out of here! You're scaring away my customers!"

"Wait, what? I... s-sorry?" Umbrella cringed anxiously as she stepped backwards, sweat beads dripping down her head as the chef stood in a combat-ready, yet awkward pose. Hat Kid also did not like the way he approached her. But in the heat of the moment, Minette went to pull Yu Wan away from the little girl before giving whispers of explanation. The chef nodded, giving the two little girls a hint of agreement before keeping away his cleaver.

"The waitress told me you saved her from those two men. Thank you for doing a good deed for us," Yu Wan said as he took a disturbed look at Hat Kid, who appeared to be bleeding from cuts before looked back at Umbrella. "Oh, what happened to her?"

"Some blob monster thing and a hot nurse attacked us." Umbrella explained the story. "We manage to escape, but Ms. Big Boobs hurt her worse."

"I see, I'll let you stay here while the waitress treats your friend." Yu Wan then showed the children the way to a bedroom while Minette went to gather bandages and a bucket filled with water. "And after that, I'll prepare you two free meals before you leave."

"Sure... thanks, chef!" Umbrella said as she walked along with Minette and Hat Kid to the bedroom.

* * *

 **Minette's bedroom**

Hat Kid, shirtless and hatless, sat on a footstool in front of Minette, who was right now wrapping bandages around the cuts throughout her body. She did not like having the water run over her cuts; it stings a lot for her, though not as much as having her bum fried by hot glowing lava back in her previous adventure. She could heal from picking up heart pons but it appears they are quite scarce on this planet. She and Umbrella also had to have their clothes cleaned up, although, in Umbrella's case, she only has to run the water over her waterproof raincoat to get her blood stain off. Umbrella also volunteered to wash her purple shirt in a bucket, though there's nothing she nor Minette could do to help with the clothing damage.

After the last wound was covered, Minette stood up, having finished her treatment.

"Here you go! Try to be careful next time, okay?" Minette advised as she patted softly on Hat Kid's head as if she were a soft kitty. Hearing the word "careful" reminded Hat Kid about that nurse's surprise attack and so she made sure to always expect another person to enter whenever she's in a battle. She nodded as she took in a valuable reminder and put on her long shirt. However, her hat is nowhere to be seen.

"Now where's my hat?" Hat Kid irritatedly said as she looked for it around the room. She first looked at Minette, who did not have her hat with her and then at Umbrella, who was rummaging through her hat and took out one of her snacks.

"Sweet! A chocolate-chip ice cream!" Umbrella exclaimed as she held the cone in her raised hand.

"PECK- nooOOOOoo, that's my ration!" Hat Kid cursed in avian language. Minette watched as the bandage-wrapped girl quickly dashed towards Umbrella and snatched the ice cream cone out of her hand forcefully. Suddenly, Hat Kid felt a sharp pain in her chest, clutching it and made a facial expression of sickness as she dropped the packaged ice cream cone on the wooden floor.

The dagonian noticed her body language and asked out of concern, "Is something wrong?"

Hat Kid felt ill, and like vomiting, so she covered her mouth in an attempt to stop the vomit. This couldn't do much other than keeping the vomit from going beyond her mouth. It was so gross; it tasted like... blood? That's not a healthy sign. She mumbled like a muffled pyromaniac trying to ask for a container to barf into. In the end, she swallowed it instead of letting it out.

"Blargh..." Hat Kid stuck out her tongue in disgust as she picked up the ice cream and threw back into her hat before taking it back from Umbrella and admonishing her for peeking inside her hat. "Don't take my things without my consent. Ever again. Umbrella."

"S-Sorry, hehehe..." Umbrella apologised, giggling mischievously. "But can I at least have my ice cream?"

Her friend narrowed her blue eyes upon not hearing the magic word.

"...please?"

Hat Kid heard the magic word and took out the chocolate chip ice cream from her hat, unwrapping it before handing it to the princess. "Knock yourself out."

"Yay!" The pinkette smiled and quickly grabbed the cold snack before feasting on it like a hungry shark.

Minette heard her door slide open and looked at the person who appeared by her door. To the kids, she looked like a woman with cat ears and tail who is wearing quite a revealing outfit: the only things covering her are a cyan crop top and pieces of her pants; the rest of her body had some jagged scars that divide each of her limbs. To her, she's Nadia Fortune without a doubt, and the feline feral looked at her casually, resting her hand on the door.

"Hi there, Mew Nyan~!" Nadia sang. Minette and her were close friends ever since she came to this restaurant with the Fishbone Gang. She was like a big sister to her and acted as a bodyguard to protect her from the humans who would make nasty comments about her race. But the girl with an amazing umbrella who saved her from the two men already did the work for Fortune. She felt curious and wanted to learn more about that special girl.

The cat glanced at the two little girls and asked them, "And what are your names, purr-fect little girls?"

"I'm Umbrella Renoir," the Canopy princess introduced. "And she's... let's call her Hat Kid."

"Hi," Hat Kid shyly waved.

When Ms. Fortune heard Umbrella's last name, she's reminded of someone, a hot-headed princess with an army who would constantly chase her tail all because her name is on her wanted criminal list. And moreover, the girl looked like her, as if she were a...

"Renoir-? Wait, you're that redhead's little sister!" the kitty exclaimed.

The raincoat kid also realised her as being a cat who her sister mentioned. "Oh my Trinity, you're one of the thieves my sister talks about!"

They then both stared at each other in the awkward silence for a while. Minette thought Umbrella looked vaguely familiar for some reason but tensed up at the bad thing that was about to result from those two meeting each other. However because it became apparent that they both do not want to fight, they decided to converse a little longer.

"Sooo... you don't like getting wet too, huh? Call me Nyadia Fortune by the way," the cat thief introduced herself. Meanwhile, Hungern is at the corner winking.

As her friend and the cat began conversing with each other, Hat Kid's hat shook a little bit, telling her that something important is nearby, and again it's a timepiece in front of her, his time inside the cat's pouch on her belt and not her belly. She pointed at the feral and asked, "Hey... Nadia, you have an hourglass with you, don't you?"

Ms. Fortune blinked at the question with a bewildered look. How did she know about the object she picked from the floor? She had ensured no one saw her taking the hourglass... unless that girl saw through her inventory. Lying was pointless at a moment, so she took out the strange object from her bag and showed it to Hat Kid. "You mean this thing?"

Coincidentally, the hourglass she was holding shared an identical trait as the strange purple-hatted girl; specifically, a small purple hat was carved on each of the three wooden rods supporting it. Could this kid be linked to this strange trinket?

"Yes, that is the one I am looking for!" Hat Kid exclaimed, though disappointedly frowned upon discovering the timepiece in a damaged condition. "But, it's cracked..."

"Yeah... I'm sorry about that. It was like this when I-" before Nadia could finish her sentence, the timepiece fractured even more before slipping out of her hand and shattering into glowing sand and glass fragments on the floor. Her cat ears stiffened out of shock as she and the other girls in the room stepped back from it as it ruptured into something that comes out of a sci-fi movie; a miniature purple rip in the fabric of space and time. "I did not _do_ that."

A cat woman, a fish girl and two kids stared at the time rift and the longer nothing else happens, the more assuring that the rift is harmless. To check if it's dangerous, Minette grabbed a broom and poked it with the long end, only for it to phase into the purple sphere of unknown energy unsnapped, making her even more confused. To the time travelling girl though, such things like timepieces turning unstable is no stranger.

Since Nadia knew that girl with a purple top hat probably has more to do with those odd-looking hourglasses, she asked her, "Do you know anything about... this thing?"

Hat Kid placed her chin on her palm and thought for a moment before nodding, causing the cat to narrow her eyes in disbelief. She then faced the rift and walked towards it. Her feet came into contact with it and submerged, followed by the rest of her. Seeing Hat kid walking through the rift made Umbrella, Minette and Nadia curious. They stepped towards it, only to stopped immediately when the time traveller stuck her head out of the purple space thingy, peeking at them sternly.

"This is for professionals only," Hat Kid warned. "Wait for me and DO NOT follow me through here."

She went back inside the rift, leaving them in the bedroom with nothing but themselves. It was most likely confirmed to them that girl with a hat is related to those space hourglasses. Shortly afterwards, a rumbling noise was made in Ms. Fortune's stomach, signalling her that it's lunchtime.

"Welp, time to stuff my meowth full with dim sum. Do you guys-"

"Girls."

"Girls- right... Do you girls want anything?" The cat lady offered.

"I'd like an ice cream please." the Canopy princess requested, although she oblivious to the fact that she's obviously in an oriental restaurant that doesn't sell ice cream.

"Nothing, for now. I better get back to work." the River King's daughter said as they all left her bedroom and back into the dining room.

* * *

 **Time Rift - Little Innsmouth**

Hat Kid landed on a wooden boardwalk, not that the place was different from its physical counterpart excluding its whole being submerged in an infinite ocean of water that strangely can be breathed in as if it were air. Fishes swim and bubbles float in the expanse watery background. The network of wooden walkways and the buildings were arranged in a way that amalgamated them into one big obstacle course.

The best difference between this and the other time rifts she travelled to in the past was that there were no common enemies to be seen; no small birds that would peck at her, no mafia goons who would punch her, no sleeping racoons who would drop into her path and no ninja cats. Speaking of ninja cats, why did she feel like she's about to encounter one soon? Snapping out of her thoughts, the time traveller focused on getting another timepiece within the rift. And to do that, she must collect the crown pons which are needed to open the vault door which led to another area of the rift. While on her way, Hat Kid also made sure to collect the photographs hidden in some locations. Learning more about the people, places and lore on a planet you've never been to before is much wiser than not expecting the unexpected.

Right now, she's on a boardwalk near the same restaurant she entered. A purple spiral-patterned orb floats in front of her, waiting to be knocked around. Hat Kid ran towards it and attempted to shatter it when she felt the same chest pain from before, stopping her in her tracks. She clutched her chest tightly and dropped her blue umbrella before looking at her hands. They were blurred in her vision and she began coughing. Each cough felt like being bludgeoned by a baseball bat. She then felt nauseatic and moved over to the side of the walkway to vomit. As she did, Hat Kid noticed the colour of her sick was blood-red, which wasn't normal at all and realised something.

"P-Poison?" she weakly uttered as she was taken back to the time when she and Umbrella made an escape. That ninja nurse threw a syringe at her that injected poison into her bloodstream, which explains her earlier symptoms. "Syringe?! No no no..." Hat Kid fell into shock as her thoughts began to panic and scramble over a serious condition. "It can't be- no, I need to get back home!"

She looked around hopelessly for a cure to poisoning, but it seems she cannot find it. Hat Kid took a deep breath in, accepting the agonising fact that she may slowly perish from the toxin. The only solution to the poison as of now was to hope that it wears off. Hat Kid hit the orb with less force to preserve her energy and what came out of it as it shattered was as expected, a timepiece: clean, untouched and fresh out of the oven. She grabbed it and held it in her left hand as she shook the blank photographs with her right hand. Images began materialising on these paper and this is what they showed, in chronological order:

The first picture showed a gang of Dagonians. However, one of them was not a fish but instead was a feline girl who looked like Nadia, who she met earlier. The difference however, is that she's wearing pants.

The second showed the gang attempting to steal a red crystal ball from a rich-looking old man.

The third concluded that they succeeded- and failed at the same time on stealing the red gem. They are shown running away from a maliciously elegant masked lady who had a hand cannon in place of her right arm.

The fourth showed Nadia swallowing the red gem in the last-ditch effort as her gang got killed in a brutal manner by the same lady.

The fifth showed the poor cat's terrible fate: she got decapitated and her limbs got sliced to pieces by that cruel woman. Her corpse, along with the gang members', got dumped into the ocean.

The sixth, to Hat Kid's surprise, had Nadia, who was chopped up beyond treatment underwater, waking up on the ocean floor and discovering her gang members dead.

And the last showed Nadia walking to the restaurant in one piece; scars on her limbs and neck visible. Perhaps that red gem she ate prevented her from dying. If Nadia didn't eat it, then Hat Kid wouldn't be meeting her. She put the photographs into her pocket and went to get back to the physical world. But just as she turned around...

The greywashed catgirl sprinted and pounced at her with razor-sharp claws. Out of shocking luck, Hat Kid immediately leaned backwards before falling flat on the floor as Ms. Fortune flew over her, claws missing her eyes by a short centimetre. The cat landed on all fours and stood straight up before her head, to rotated an impossible 180 degrees to face the time traveller, followed by her connected body.

"You..." the grey thief growled aggressively, "I will get my revenge on Medici Mafia, starting with you, girl!"

"W-Wait! I am not part of this Mafia you're talking about!" Hat Kid hurriedly explained, but to no avail as the enraged cat began to dash towards her at cheetah speed. 

* * *

**Spaceship (Mk. 14 custom) Crash Site**

Lab 8's Anti-Skullgirl agents arrived at where the unidentified flying carrier of space hourglasses crashed...


End file.
